Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Shares Bought by Portolan Capital Management LLC

Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 8,686 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $10,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $3,561,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $510,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 84,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,817,000 after purchasing an additional 27,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,836,000 after buying an additional 21,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO opened at $245.43 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $264.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.68. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.38 and a fifty-two week high of $387.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 1.12.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 71.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.20.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets.